Gifts, Dreams and Appreciation

Tuesday morning began with a visit to the Mercy Center to meet a few more of the orphans our church sponsors. It had rained a lot during the night, so we weren’t sure if the kids would actually be able to make it there. (The roads become very had to travel on when it rains for many hours.) Needless to say, we were very happy to see them patiently waiting for us. We handed their gifts to them, and then added their hand prints to the giant sheet.

The children stayed after they got their presents, so I spent time with the girls, which was a great benefit to me. I got the privilege of hearing all of them laugh…tickling worked great! :) It’s so neat how laughter is a universal language. Even though I couldn’t have a conversation with them, I was able to hear them laugh and see them smile. Of course, giving them candy helped too. :)

After leaving the Mercy Center, Jeana, Zac, and I went to the farm Project Hope and Charity owns. (Barb stayed at the Mercy Center and helped Nurse Rebecca. You can read about her time there below.) I have been looking forward to this visit since Friday. Farming runs deep in my blood, and I just couldn’t wait to see a farm here in Africa! The closer and closer we got to the farm, I got more and more excited. As soon as we got out of the jeep, I felt at home seeing corn standing taller than me. It amazes me that corn grows just as well in Africa as it does in the U.S. (the growing seasons are at different times in the year though). The farm is directed by Madame Zokoe, who is also the founder and administrator of the Project Hope and Charity school (affiliated with GBIM).

The farm consists of many fields. Rice and gozo (manioc root) are the main produce, but there is also a field of potatoes, and peanuts, along with a garden. Planted in the garden are the basic vegetables gardens in the U.S. have - onions, beans, lettuce, etc. The fields are maintained by widows, because it is very difficult for widows to financially support themselves. The food produced from these fields is used to feed the orphans at the school, and also sold to financially support the school and keep it maintained. Positively, each widow also personally has a plot of land to sell the produce and make a profit.

As we toured the farm, Madame Zokoe explained to us the future plans for the land- a high school, a boys dorm, a girls dorm, a chapel, and a shop, used for carpentry, masonry, and sewing. She said some of the land would be used for the orphans to raise chickens, and grow their own food, too. It was neat to hear her dreams for the land, and she asks that we pray for financial funding to get the projects going.

(Barb) It was great to work with Nurse Rebecca again. Due to the hard rain last night it took the children longer to get to the Mercy Center, so we had a little time to talk. I tried my Sango and she tried her English. With the help of my dictionary, we communicated well. She has bilateral knee pain, so I gave her my knee brace to keep. She practically danced! It seemed to give her some instant relief. Great! We also had time to have a knitting lesson which she picked up rapidly. She has one brother and three sisters, just like me. She is the mother of four and the grandmother (Ata) of eight. Four boys and four girls, and I got to meet three of them today. How beautiful they are!

We also had time to sing Sango hymns. I learned all four verses of “Jesus Loves Me”, “O How I Love Jesus” and a few more. Before we finished singing, Flavia came and we had three part harmony going. Finally, the children came! Three were suffering from malaria. We gave them thorough exams to check for anything else. Another child was suffering from parasites, but the lab results are not back yet. As I was looking over the list for all eight groups, it saddened me to see that two little girls had died. This morning before we left we had some time so Sue Peters and I turned it into prayer time. It has been a plus to see Tom & Sue every day. It doesn’t seem possible that we only have 2 days left. I will be sorry to leave, but so happy to see my loving family.

I was reading in Job today and found these verses applicable- 36:6 “He giveth right to the poor” & 36:16 “He delivereth the poor in his affliction.” God bless & thanks for all you prayers.

We had lunch with Brice and Maurice, at the Grand Café, which is basically a French restaurant planted in Bangui. Brice is our driver, and Maurice is our translator and right-hand man. We appreciate their work for ICDI and their help so much, that we wanted to thank them. It was really neat to see how much this meal, and time with us meant to them. And, what good is a meal, if you don’t get dessert?! The ice cream we got was delicious! :)

In the afternoon, we cooled off again in the pool at the Ambassador’s house. We enjoyed the time of relaxing after a busy day. After dinner we had team time, and planned our appreciation tea for tomorrow. We are hosting an “Appreciation Tea” as a way to show our appreciation to all of the ICDI employees we’ve interacted with during the trip. Please pray that the ICDI employees will feel appreciated. Also, please pray that we will have running water by the time the tea starts. For most of Tuesday we did not have running water, and when we went to bed, we still didn’t have any.

Thanks again for your prayers! We’ll be home soon. :)

Heidi- on behalf of the team.